In the past there have been several designs for bicycle hand brake actuators. These designs generally include a bracket which is mounted in stationary relationship to the handlebars and which carries a pivot pin located adjacent to the handlebars and an aperture distal from the handlebars for receiving and mounting the end of a bowden cable sheath extending from the brake on the bicycle. A lever used on these designs typically has a portion for engagement with the hand of an operator, which portion extends substantially parallel to the handle bar of the bicycle and a second portion which extends perpendicular to the hand engagement portion and includes an aperture for receiving the pivot pin.
Examples of these prior hand brakes are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,611,500 granted to Nagano, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,404,146 granted to Ueda. Both of these Patents show typical prior art brake operating mechanisms in which a pivoted lever has a cable end attached to it such that as the lever is pivoted, the portion of the lever holding the end of the cable draws the cable end away from the aperture for receiving the cable in the mounting bracket whereby the cable is moved relative to an outer sheath.
The operation of the Nagano and Ueda devices results in the formation of a gap between the bracket and the lever, in which the gap is exposed and may form a pinch point or area where foreign materials will easily enter the braking mechanism. This gap creates a hazard in which articles or an individual's fingers or hands can get caught in the gap and pinched when the lever is released.
Another prior art hand brake is discloses in U.S Pat. No. 4,785,683 granted to Buckley. Buckley shows a hand brake actuator in which the gap between the mounting point on the lever for attaching the cable and the aperture in the stationary bracket for holding the cable sheath is cover by a shroud.
Although the shroud disclosed in the Buckley patent covers the gap area formed by conventional brake actuators, a new gap is formed at the point where the lever passes out of the shroud, which gap could also form a pinch point.
Accordingly, there is a need for a brake lever which prevents the formation of exposed gaps between the pivoted lever and the mounting bracket throughout the movement of the lever.